When US Coast Guard inspectors came aboard the bulk carrier M/V Aquarosa in Baltimore in February of 2011, a junior engineer slipped them a note, which read, “I have sometheng to till you but secret.”  The engineer, Salvatore Lopez, from the Philippines, had collected evidence of the illegal dumping of oily waste and garbage into the ocean. Lopez had copies of the ship’s log as well as hundreds of photos shot with his cell phone of illegal activities.  With the information provided by Lopez, the Coast Guard inspectors were able to locate the “magic pipe” hidden in the engine room that allowed the ship’s operators to pollute undetected.

The owners and operators of the M/V Aquarosa were fined $1.85 million in federal court last January for their activities.  On Monday, a federal judge in Baltimore awarded Salvatore Lopez $462,500 for alerting the Coast Guard to the illegal dumping. Depending on the outcome of another portion of the case, Lopez could be awarded an additional $462,500.   Lopez, who had been supporting a wife and four children on $27,000 a year, has been unable to get work since he began helping the investigation.

Judge awards whistle-blower $462,500 in high-seas pollution case